Designing Software Architectures As a Composition of Specializations of Knowledge Domains

This paper summarizes our experimental research and software development activities in designing robust, adaptable and reusable software architectures. Several years ago, based on our previous experiences in object-oriented software development, we made the following assumption: ‘A software architecture should be a composition of specializations of knowledge domains’. To verify this assumption we carried out three pilot projects. In addition to the application of some popular domain analysis techniques such as use cases, we identified the invariant compositional structures of the software architectures and the related knowledge domains. Knowledge domains define the boundaries of the adaptability and reusability capabilities of software systems. Next, knowledge domains were mapped to object-oriented concepts. We experienced that some aspects of knowledge could not be directly modeled in terms of object-oriented concepts. In this paper we describe our approach, the pilot projects, the experienced problems and the adopted solutions for realizing the software architectures. We conclude the paper with the lessons that we learned from this experience

Implementing PRISMA/DB in an OOPL

PRISMA/DB is implemented in a parallel object-oriented language to gain insight in the usage of parallelism. This environment allows us to experiment with parallelism by simply changing the allocation of objects to the processors of the PRISMA machine. These objects are obtained by a strictly modular design of PRISMA/DB. Communication between the objects is required to cooperatively handle the various tasks, but it limits the potential for parallelism. From this approach, we hope to gain a better understanding of parallelism, which can be used to enhance the performance of PRISMA/DB.\ud The work reported in this document was conducted as part of the PRISMA project, a joint effort with Philips Research Eindhoven, partially supported by the Dutch "Stimuleringsprojectteam Informaticaonderzoek (SPIN)

Towards an aspect weaving BPEL engine

This position paper proposes the use of dynamic aspects and the visitor design pattern to obtain a highly configurable and extensible BPEL engine. Using these two techniques, the core of this infrastructural software can be customised to meet new requirements and add features such as debugging, execution monitoring, or changing to another Web Service selection policy. Additionally, it can easily be extended to cope with customer-specific BPEL extensions. We propose the use of dynamic aspects not only on the engine itself but also on the workflow in order to tackle the problems of Web Service hot deployment and hot fixes to long running processes. In this way, composing aWeb Service "on-the-fly" means weaving its choreography interface into the workflow

Towards the architecture of an instructional multimedia database

The applicability of multimedia databases in education may be extended if they can serve multiple target groups, leading to affordable costs per unit for the user. In this contribution, an approach is described to build generic multimedia databases to serve that purpose. This approach is elaborated within the ODB Project ('Instructional Design of an Optical DataBase'); the term optical refers to the use of optical storage media to hold the audiovisual components. The project aims at developing a database in which a hypermedia encyclopedia is combined with instructional multimedia applications for different target groups at different educational levels. The architecture of the Optical Database will allow for switching between application types while working (for instance from tutorial instruction via the encyclopedia to a simulation and back). For instruction, the content of the database is thereby organized around so-called standard instruction routes: one route per target group. In the project, the teacher is regarded as the manager of instruction.\ud \ud From that perspective, the database is primarily organized as a teaching facility. Central to the research is the condition that the architecture of the Optical Database has to enable teachers to select and tailor instruction routes to their needs in a way that is perceived as logical and easy to use

Automatic view schema generation in object-oriented databases

An object-oriented data schema is a complex structure of classes interrelated via generalization and property decomposition relationships. We define an object-oriented view to be a virtual schema graph with possibly restructured generalization and decomposition hierarchies - rather than just one individual virtual class as proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose a methodology, called MultiView, for supporting multiple such view schemata. MultiView is anchored on the following complementary ideas: (a) the view definer derives virtual classes and then integrates them into one consistent global schema graph and (b) the view definer specifies arbitrarily complex view schemata on this augmented global schema. The focus of this paper is, however, on the second, less explored, issue. This part of the view definition is performed using the following two steps: (1) view class selection and (2) view schema graph generation. For the first, we have developed a view definition language that can be used by the view definer to specify the selection of the desired view classes from the global schema. For the second, we have developed two algorithms that automatically augment the set of selected view classes to generate a complete, minimal and consistent view class generalization hierarchy. The first algorithm has linear complexity but it assumes that the global schema graph is a tree. The second algorithm overcomes this restricting assumption and thus allows for multiple inheritance, but it does so at the cost of a higher complexity

MultiView : a methodology for supporting multiple view schemata in object-oriented databases

It has been widely recognized that object-oriented database (OODB) technology needs to be extended to provide a mechanism similar to views in relational database systems. We define an object-oriented view to be an arbitrarily complex virtual schema graph with possibly restructured generalization and decomposition hierarchies - rather than just one virtual class as has been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose a methodology, called MultiView, for supporting multiple such view schemata. MultiView breaks the schema design task into the following independent and well-defined subtasks: (1) the customization of type descriptions and object sets of existing classes by deriving virtual classes, (2) the integration of all derived classes into one consistent global schema graph, and (3) the definition of arbitrarily complex view schemata on this augmented global schema. For the first task of MultiView, we define a set of object algebra operators that can be used by the view definer for class customization. For the second task of MultiView, we propose an algorithm that automatically integrates these newly derived virtual classes into the global schema. We solve the third task of MultiView by first letting the view definer explicitly select the desired view classes from the global schema using a view definition language and then by automatically generating a view class hierarchy for these selected classes. In addition, we present algorithms that verify the closure property of a view and, if found to be incomplete, transform it into a closed, yet minimal, view. In this paper, we introduce the fundamental concept of view independence and show MultiView to be view independent. We also outline implementation techniques for realizing MultiView with existing OODB technology

A logic programming framework for modeling temporal objects

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